2018

Posted on 29/03/2018 by admin

The image above, by Noelle Lowney, was the overall highest scoring image in our recent competition whose theme was 'Cork' and by a clear margin of 33 points to boot!

With another good entry of 29 images, the competition was intense but when the final votes were counted, this is how the top three in each Grade looked:

It was an outstanding performance in Grade B with the top two overall points going to Noelle Lowney and Remi Boron respectively. Grade C also was an interesting finish with Neil O'Carroll taking first place for the second time on the trot while a newcomer to the Group, Jim Corbett, took second place with a very interesting 'mini world' image.

Well done to all our winners and everyone who entered, especially to those entering for the first time.

Click here to see a gallery of images from the competition. Enjoy!

See also:
How I took that Shot - Kevin Day
How I took that Shot - Noelle Lowney
How I took that Shot - Neil O'Carroll
Winners Presentation Photos
Competition Results and 2018 League Table

If you are interested in photography and would like to know more about East Cork Camera Group, click the 'Contact Us' link above.

How I Took That Shot – John Tait

Posted on 28/03/2018 by admin

John Tait took first place in Grade A with this shot in our recent 'Festive' competition. This is how he made the image:

Having received the usual reminder email, exhorting us all to get our
entries in on time for our "Festive" competition, I began to panic. I
had nothing!.... I had no valid excuse either, as Christmas was just
over, so most normal photographers would have lots of shots of Christmas
trees. Santa Claus. Christmas pud...Carol singers etc, etc. But I had
nothing at all, as I had spent most of Christmas chasing wildlife
shots... Then I had a Eureka moment!

I had been up in Co Laois with Dave Harris, trying to get
shots of a Pine Marten. As we sat in a tiny hide for about two hours,
waiting for our Pine marten to appear, boredom had us searching the
trees and undergrowth for something else to photograph. After shooting a
Robin, a couple of Chaffinches and other small birds, I suddenly spotted
a Blackbird perched high in a Holly tree. The Holly tree had lots of
berries, and the Blackbird was feasting on these. I took a couple of
shots of the bird with a juicy berry in his beak and promptly forgot all
about him, as the Pine Marten suddenly made an appearance. My camera
settings on the day were as follows.

Everything set to manual except for
ISO which was on Auto. Shutter speed would be not slower than 1/1000,
and Aperture f6.3. F6.3 is the largest Aperture that I can set the
camera to when using my Tamron 150-600mm zoom lens. I would also have
set my exposure compensation to +1 or +2 stops, so as to expose for the
bird against the much brighter sky. Without this compensation, I would
have had only a silhouette, and no detail in the bird.

Luckily, I remembered my "festive Blackbird" just in time to pop
it into Lightroom for a quick crop, and a couple of tweaks before
sending it off for the competition.

- John Tait

Well done John!

Click here to see a gallery of images from the competition. Enjoy!

If you are interested in photography and would like to know more about East Cork Camera Group, click the 'Contact Us' link above.

How I Took That Shot – Noelle Lowney

Posted on 26/03/2018 by admin

Noelle Lowney took first place in Grade B in our recent 'Festive' competition. No stranger to the winners' podium, this is how she made the image:

The image was taken on a cold December evening in Cobh in the run-up to Christmas. On my hunt for an appropriate image that was representative of a Festive theme, I came across an unusual Christmas Tree situated off the main street in Cobh next to the Lusitania monument. When I looked at the position of the tree with the CatherdaI slightly above it I thought it would make an interesting shot. I put my camera on a tripod and attached a remote control for the long exposure. After many takes, I settled on this image.

The image was taken on a Canon 7D Mark II with a 55m to 250m lens. Camera settings were ISO 125, Shutter speed 18 seconds and F18.

- Noelle Lowney

Click here to see a gallery of images from the competition. Enjoy!

If you are interested in photography and would like to know more about East Cork Camera Group, click the 'Contact Us' link above.

How I Took That Shot – Neil O’Carroll

Posted on 24/03/2018 by admin

Though reminiscent of an event in an exotic, faraway place, Neil O'Carroll's winning image in Grade C in our recent 'Festive' competition was, in fact, shot in Dublin Zoo! This was Neil's first appearance on the podium and to take first place was a fantastic achievement. This is how he made the shot:

The photo was taken at Dublin Zoo Christmas Chinese Lantern Display on December 13, 2017.

(Display was open every night from 5.30pm to 9pm commenced in late November until 6th January. It is planned to return again for Christmas 2018)

Camera used--Canon EOS 70D – handheld.

1/50 sec; f4.5; 35mm; iso500.

Minimal post editing -- slight cropping & removal stray lights in the background.

- Neil O'Carroll

Well done Neil!

Click here to see a gallery of images from the competition. Enjoy!

Monster Motorcycle Show, Carrigtwohill – 25/02/2018

Posted on 22/03/2018 by admin

All roads led to Carrigtwohill for bikers and motorbike enthusiasts alike as the Cork
Motorcycle Racing and Vintage Club were hosts to the Monster Motorcycle Show
2018 on Sunday, 25th February. This Show did not disappoint as it had something
for everyone, from the pioneering days of motorcycles to the modern and futuristic
science of two-wheel transport and racing. There were modern, classic, race,
vintage, off-road, drag bikes and custom machines on display. There were also
many trade stands there where main dealers displayed a range of new motorcycles
and accessories.

Isle of Man TT Legend, John McGuinness and the rising star of British Superbikes,
Glen Irwin, were in attendance talking with fans and signing autographs.
Members of ECCG. spent a very enjoyable day at the Show and were very
impressed by the huge amount of bikes on display.

Click here to see a gallery of images from the shoot. Enjoy!

- Eileen Upton